Arvil Reeb Honored as First Recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award Bearing His Name

​Author: Mia Perry, KSCSW Board Member
​On September 27. 2018, KSCSW presented the first Arvil Reeb Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence and Advocacy in Social Work. The recipient was Arvil Reeb himself. The award presentation and dinner took place at the Boone Faculty Club on the University of Kentucky campus.

​A key figure in the history of clinical social work practice in Kentucky, Arvil Reeb was a founding member of KSCSW and served as our society’s first president. Beginning in the early 1970’s, Mr. Reeb spearheaded the campaign to achieve licensure for clinical social workers in Kentucky. He went on to help launch the Kentucky Board of Social Work, which continues to promote professional standards that protect social workers and our clients to this day. In addition to these valuable contributions to establishing our profession in Kentucky, Mr. Reeb helped to write a model licensing bill for all states to use in advancing the professional status of their clinical social workers.  And he accomplished all of this while providing direct service to clients for more than five decades.  Arvil Reeb’s career has truly served as a model for LCSW service and advocacy at every level.

At the award dinner, Mr. Reeb’s award was presented to him by Kentucky State Representative Jim Wayne, who expressed great appreciation for Mr. Reeb’s service to the profession and to the citizens of our state. The dinner was attended by many KSCSW members past and present, as well as by members of three generations of the Reeb family. It was inspiring to hear attendees’ stories of working alongside Mr. Reeb in the early years of our profession. 

The dinner and award presentation were organized by current KSCSW Board President Jennifer Connor Godbey, past president Lisa Berman, and former Membership Chair Marcia Risk. KSCSW organizers and board members welcomed the opportunity to gather and recognize  Mr. Reeb’s decades of service to the profession.

The Arvil Reeb Lifetime Achievement Award will be a recurring award presented by KSCSW to clinical social workers whose careers may serve as an inspiration to others.  If you would like to nominate a Kentucky social worker for a future award, email KSCSW at [email protected].